Monday wasn't only the fifth anniversary of
World of Warcraft, it also kicked off the 15th anniversary of the
Warcraft property at large (which makes sense -- you might remember that
the original WoW intro started off with "Ten Years of
Warcraft"). And so Blizzard has created
a brand new minisite to commemorate the occasion -- they've got
a full video interview with many of the staff members (no women, though, Blizzard -- what's the deal there?), and there are other Blizzard and community interviews coming as well. They've also got a feature
called the "Battlecry Mosaic," in which they're inviting fans to take pictures of themselves showing Horde or Alliance pride with printable logos, which will then be assembled into a mosaic of up to 20,000 pictures. That should be a sight to see -- it'll eventually all be posted online, but I wouldn't be surprised to see something like it at the next BlizzCon also. Neth also says that whoever reaches set limits on pictures will get
a faction exclusive piece of art revealed. Sounds fun.
I thought for a moment that this was what
the Warcraft twitter account was referring to the other day, but they specifically said whatever they were talking about would be revealed on 11/25, and obviously that's still in the future. So we'll have to see what else appears this week. Still, the minisite is an excellent homepage for Blizzard's look back at their first and biggest franchise. Especially if you're a
Warcraft fan, it's a must-see.
Tags: 15-years-of-warcraft, alliance, battlecry-mosaic, blizzard, blizzcon, contest, horde, pride, twitter, warcraft, warcraft-15th-anniversary, warcraft-anniversary, world-of-warcraft, wow, wow-5th-anniversary
Filed under: Fan stuff, Virtual selves, Odds and ends, Blizzard, Interviews
Nov 24th 2009 at 6:00PM 
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
raukus Nov 24th 2009 6:09PM
Actually this year is the 27th anniversary of the idea behind Warcraft, because the first edition of Warhammer came out in 1983.
screwed73 Nov 24th 2009 6:15PM
Does Warhammer even involve Blizzard at all? Its Mythic Entertainment if I'm correct, which is NOT Blizzard.
Leviathon Nov 24th 2009 6:16PM
He's one of those "Blizz copied from Warhammer!' people.
Rich Nov 24th 2009 6:24PM
Considering Warcraft was to be a Warhammer game then there was a fall out, it evolved into what we know now.
But that is neither or nor there. Warcraft is Warcraft, no matter what it was intended to be originally.
Superthrust Nov 24th 2009 6:25PM
Blizzard was the original owners of the "Warhammer" series. Back in the day, they made it a little bit bland. So, when their warhammer ideas were shot down, they went back, made the story awesome (ridiculously awesome, mind you) and gave birth to...WARCRAFT! HUMANS VS ORCS!
And here we are...still loving blizzard for everything it is.
Even if we are not a fan of WoW anymore (myself, including others), we still share the love for blizzard. And Whether anyone likes it or not, hats need to be tipped to show they in fact, do have the most played and popular MMO out to date.
Dboy Nov 24th 2009 6:31PM
Of course Blizzard copied many of the ideas behind Warhammer - there's no secret about it. Who cares? Warhammar copied their ideas from J.R.R. Tolkein, Tolkien copied his ideas from European mythology, and so on...
CDave Nov 24th 2009 6:30PM
Did they do the same with Warhammer 40k/Starcraft?
Space Marines/Marines
Eldar/Protoss
Tyranid/Zerg
Hm..
(cutaia) Nov 24th 2009 6:31PM
In other news, we're coming up on the 5,300th anniversary of the automobile. You know, because they found a wheel and axle in Slovania that's around that old. That's how this works, right?
Mopo Nov 24th 2009 6:37PM
@screwed73
I think he is referring to Games Workshop. Mythic Entertainment just handles the MMO for them. It is still idiotic for him to mention, because D&D came out in 1974 and Tolkien before that, etc etc etc.... Does it really matter what came out first at this point?
censorman Nov 24th 2009 11:13PM
No one can argue that WoW clearly lifted content directly from Warhammer. But Warhammer borrowed back by taking the best parts of their UI. WoW stole from EQ, but EQ stole from UO. John William's Star Wars stole a shit ton from Holtz planets.
So there are two ways of looking at it. Getting angry cause Blizzard got it right - no - fucking NAILED it and Mythic, SOE, Origin all withered in comparison. Or accepting it as the highest compliment.
As for kids ignoring the fact WoW stands on established shoulders, there are fires waiting for you fucking morons to die in.
Superthurst - are you saying Blizzard owned the video game rights to the Warhammer IP? Cause Gamesworkshop created Warhammer. If so, huh, I didn't know that.
Warcraft 1994 v Warhammer 1983
Starcraft 1998 v 40K 1987
Warhammer is still my favorite miniature game.
WoW is hands down the kind of MMOs.
Mikee Nov 25th 2009 12:58PM
The first Warcraft video game was released in 1994.
The first Warhammer video game was released in 1995.
The first Warhammer tabletop game was released in late 1983.
The first Power & Perils tabletop game was released in early 1983.
The first Dunegeons and Dragons tabletop game was released in 1974.
IF, Blizz copied Warhammer for WoW, who did Warhammer copy?
Hoggersbud Dec 4th 2009 7:46PM
>IF, Blizz copied Warhammer for WoW, who did Warhammer copy
Tolkien. D&D. History. Alien. Heinlein's Starship Troopers. Probably could throw in a bit of Asimov, Norton and Bradley if I wanted to try.
Tirrimas Nov 24th 2009 6:11PM
Wow, both leaders look TASTY.
*ahem*
FOR THE HORDE!
Jamesisgreat Nov 24th 2009 7:32PM
I dunno... - is Thrall wearing a wig?!
Deadly. Off. Topic. Nov 25th 2009 9:36AM
Someone may be coughing out a hair(wig) ball soon.
Carver Nov 24th 2009 6:18PM
I don't think I would hate Varian as much as I do if he didn't have such stupid looking hair. The Jackass guys need to sneak up behind him with the hair clippers and shave off that ponytail. Or get decapitated while trying. I suppose it's win-win.
(cutaia) Nov 24th 2009 6:26PM
Speaking of the Twitter account, they posted another picture snippet today. Still no clue what it is, though:
http://twitpic.com/qsi5p
Eric Nov 24th 2009 6:38PM
thats pretty weird looking lol
donz Nov 24th 2009 6:26PM
way to make an issue out of a non-issue Mike. seeing sexism where there is none just makes you look like a douchebag.
benedikto Nov 24th 2009 7:25PM
heh was about to post the same thing, glad to see I m not the only one.